We tried to earn money from tourism by making handicrafts and selling them, but it didn't work — we simply don't have the good materials, or the money to buy them. What we'd really like is to open a guesthouse that women can run themselves. It would be a good way to build independence, and give women more options.
It's not that men don't want their wives to grow — they leave the women free to do things. Women here just don't always know what to do with that freedom yet.
Over the last decade, educational awareness in the district has grown a lot. But there's still a big gap: men's literacy is over 60%, women's is only around 30%. About 40% of people here have enough money to meet their basic needs; the rest don't. Those who come into regular contact with tourists along the trekking routes are the ones whose incomes have gone up, even if only a little.
The way people dress has changed too — men dress more western now, and some young women are starting to as well, though that has little to do with tourism. Elderly people still dress fully traditionally.
What's missing isn't ambition — it's the capital to build on it.